The renewed push by secondary school headteachers to increase school fees could not have come at a worse time. Across the country, parents and guardians are already struggling under the weight of a high cost of living, stagnant incomes and rising household expenses.
For many families, keeping children in school has become an exercise in sacrifice, often requiring them to forgo basic necessities.
While school administrators have legitimate concerns over rising operational costs, passing the burden directly to parents is neither fair nor sustainable.
Education is a public good, and its financing demands innovative solutions beyond the familiar call for higher fees. The Ministry of Education and school managers should explore prudent financial management, eliminate wastage, strengthen procurement systems, embrace income-generating initiatives where appropriate and press for more efficient allocation of public resources.
Increasing fees risks reversing the gains made in expanding access to secondary education. It would inevitably push more learners out of school, widen inequality and place additional pressure on already vulnerable households.
The country's education bureaucrats must resist the temptation to reach for the easiest solution. Instead, they should demonstrate creativity, accountability and fiscal discipline in managing schools.
Parents have reached their financial limits. The answer to the challenges facing education cannot always be found in their pockets.
Quote of the Day: "Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world...would do this, it would change the earth." —American author and Nobel laureate William Faulkner died on July 6, 1962
